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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

How to Qualify for More Paid Surveys



I made $3000 in one month taking paid surveys!!!

This is the one liner that suckered me in.
Like most people searching for online supplemental income or get-rich-quick scheme, I bit the bait like a trout with the munchies.  I coughed up the $35 and crossed my fingers that I was about to fire my boss and work from home comfortably.  
I'm so glad I didn't quit my day job.
As I searched the pages of my miracle E-book, I realized there was actually lots of earning potential in online market research, and lots of available work in the field.   Even as much as the $3000 dollars I was promised in the ad.  At $5 per 20 minute survey, I would work 30 hours a week at $15 per hour and make more than enough extra money.  That's what they said, and even as much as $100 per hour for focus group studies.  So, I began to implement the plan of signing up with dozens of survey panels so as to maximize my available work load and make as much as possible taking only high paying surveys.  Then I set up my email and waited.
  After about a week, my email box became very busy with survey invitations and spam.  Managing my email became an hour a day chore of just sorting out surveys.  But I had what I wanted: variety.  So, I diligently began completing surveys, starting with the highest paying ones and working on them carefully so as not to make mistakes and tarnish my reputation as a survey taker.  I did it all by the books.

I never have made more than $350 in one month working all types of market research.
But I have made $350 in one month taking surveys.
If you take online surveys, you know why:  Screen outs and "no qualifies".
I received hundreds of survey invitations per week, and only actually got paid for about 15% of them.  My $15/hour idea had become a reality of $3-$5  per hour and sometimes none at all.  I only qualified for about 1 out of 6 surveys I applied for, and only about 1% of those high dollar opportunities described in the Ebook.  There were even days when I''d attempt to screen into 20 surveys and only qualify to complete one that paid a dollar or less, and I would spend an hour trying to qualify for all those surveys.  I would feel frustrated by the time I realized I'd spent and hour answering the same 15 screener questions over and over, only to make a dollar.  It made my steady paycheck at work and oppressive boss seem very inviting.
    This was about 7 years ago.  I have been taking surveys on and off for years, and over time I have increased my number of surveys that I actually get paid for up to about 30%, and 1 out of 3 is much more productive than 1 out of 6 or worse. As with any trade, there are tricks to making the job more productive and easier.   Some of these tricks are more "white hat" than others.  Other tricks are a sure way to get you banned from using a survey site if you are caught doing them.  And still others are common sense once you understand how the qualification process for market research works.  Here's what I know about making more from paid surveys, just from experience.   The black hat and white hat techniques will be covered is separate posts.
  1. Do not sign up with every survey panel you find.   All panels don't pay cash and some require an astronomical amount of earnings before they will send you a check.  Look at a panels rewards program and cash out amount before signing up.  Many panels pay in points which can be redeemed for Paypal or Amazon gift cards, which are as good as cash in many places.  Some only offer prizes and drawings into sweepstakes, which can be nice if you win but do not increase your earnings per hour.  Also, some panels are focused on business owners, IT professionals, or TV and movie addicts, among other focused panels.  There is even one for gift cards!  Make sure you fit the criteria for a panelist group if you want to qualify for their surveys and not waste your time.
  2. Make a separate email box for your surveys.  A new account under a different email provider is recommended and advised.  This will save you time sorting emails that do not make you money.  You should be "on the clock" while taking surveys, and focus on completion rather than sorting in between mail while working.  Time is money.  Hot mail, mail.com, gmail
  3. Get Roboform.  This free program available for download will fill out survey paned registration forms in less than 5 seconds, plus remember your passwords for your many different survey companies you work for.  This will also save time and thus increase your earnings potential.
  4. Complete your panel profiles.  Most companies have you complete a number of profiles for you to fill out about your work, hobbies, interests, activities, children, financial status, technology you own,etc.  These small surveys help the panel to correctly sort out the surveys that don't fit your criteria, and sent you more surveys that you will qualify for.  Of course, the panels will still sent you surveys you will screen out of, but you will receive less of them.
  5. Don't be discouraged by the amount of time it takes to get paid.  Most surveys have a 2-6 week hold before the survey responses are counted and sorted.  This means it will be up to 6 weeks before you get paid for any one survey.  Then, the cash out amount for most panels is a minimum of $10, so keep doing surveys do fill the lag between completion and pay day.  After about 3 months, your earnings will begin to acrew on a regular basis so you can continuously keep cashing out regularly.   A few companies do pay instantly for completion and can be redeemed within 2 days of requesting a reward.  I have a Visa from one company that loads 48 hours after I request the reward (minimum $15) and credits you for surveys instantly upon completion.
  6. Read all instructions and questions.  Almost every survey will throw in at least one trick question, just to see if you are paying attention.  
An example of this is a question:  Which have you done in the past month?
                                                  A. go to the movies
                                                  B. eat out at a restaurant.
                                                  C. buy a home
                                                  D. fly to the moon
If you select D, you may be instantly disqualified from the survey.   If the survey is about a movie, however, not selecting A will also disqualify you from the study.  Its a double edged sword, so read all surveys thoroughly to catch these "trick" questions.
Past these tips, the tricks are either honest or dishonest, so decide weather this matters to you before reading on, as the "black hat" tricks are pretty much lying through your teeth.  Part 2 and 3 of this article will go in depth on how to make the most out of surveys by sorting out companies, the good and bad surveys, and answering questions in a way(lying) that you will qualify much more often. 
 
Black Hat Tricks to Make More Cash and Qualify for More Surveys

White Hat Tricks to Make More Cash and Qualify for More Surveys